S. Korean cinema chain CGV to open first '4DX' theater in U.S.

South Korea's largest cinema chain, CJ CGV, will open a "4DX" movie theater in Los Angeles, the first of its kind in the United States, the company said Tuesday.

The film exhibitor said that during the recent CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas, it signed a deal with the Anschutz Entertainment Group, a U.S.-based global sporting and music entertainment presenter, to operate the 4DX space.

It will open within a theater called the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium 14 in downtown Los Angeles, possibly to screen the 4DX version of a Hollywood blockbuster this summer for the first time in the U.S., the South Korean exhibitor said.

Developed by South Korea's food and entertainment conglomerate CJ in 2009, the 4DX theater allows the audience to watch the movie with various chair-embedded sensory effects such as puffs of air, scented mist, seat motion and vibration, requiring an array of special equipment.

The 4DX auditorium to open in Los Angeles is CJ's first 4DX theater in the North American country.

CJ CGV currently runs 4DX screens at 92 theaters in 23 countries around the world, including Brazil, Japan, Russia and China. (Yonhap)